MTH HO Scale 4-6-4 Hudson Locomotive - Streamlined NYC Empire State

HO RTR 4-6-4 with PS3, NYC/Empire State #1



Written By:
Ken Hulsey
Source: Steamlocomotives


MTH has released, what might be, one of the finest examples of the famed New York Central's 4-6-4 streamlined, 'Hudsons', in HO gauge. This locomotive is painted in the railroad's 'Empire State' paint scheme, and is a must have for all railroad modelers and enthusiasts.



In total 275 of these powerful passenger locomotives were built for the NYC by the American Locomotive Company between 1926 and 1938. Of these engines, 13 were streamlined in the now infamous, "bathtub" casing that was designed by the Case School of Science in Cleveland, OH.

NYC locomotive 5344 was the first to receive the streamline treatment, in fact, it was the first American steamer to ever be streamlined, having its shroud installed in 1934.

In 1935 No. 5344 was assigned to the New York Central's premiere passenger train, the 20th Century Limited, which ran between Toledo and Chicago. This locomotive would remain on the head end of the 'Limited' until 1945, when a collision with a truck at a grade crossing, would cause the engine to have to have it's streamlining removed.

Locomotives 5426 and 5429, were streamlined with a stainless steel cowling to match the "Empire State Express" train. Both locomotives would wear this cowling until 1950.

Ten 'Hudsons' , numbers 5445 through 5454, were graced with the famed streamline design created by Henry Dreyfuss that matched the new cars of the New York to Chicago "Twentieth Century Limited" which was one of America's most famous luxury trains.

MTH HO Scale GS-4 4-8-4 Locomotive - Southern Pacific

MTH HO Scale Ready To Run 4-8-4 GS-4 Locomotive w/PS3 - Southern Pacific -Daylight - #4453

Product Description

This is an MTH 80-3114-1 Southern Pacific (#4453) 4-8-4 GS-4 Steam Locomotive Small Lettering with Proto-Sound 3.0. Features include Die-Cast Boiler and Tender Body, Die-Cast Metal Chassis, Authentic Paint Scheme & Cab Numbers, RP-25 Metal Wheels Mounted On Metal Axles, Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage Headlight, Operating MARS Light, Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting, Detailed Truck Sides, Detailed Cab Interior, Opening Cab Roof Hatch, Powerful 5-Pole Precision Flywheel Equipped Motor, (2) Scale Kadee Compatible Couplers, Metal Handrails and Decorative Bell, Decorative Metal Whistle, Sprung Drive Wheels, Synchronized Puffing ProtoSmoke? System, Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments, Detailed Tender Undercarriage, Interchangeable Traction Tire-Equipped Drive Wheels, On-Board DCC Receiver, and it Operates On Code 70, 83, & 100 Rail Curves. Also features a Wireless Drawbar, Engineer and Fireman Figures, Operating Marker Lights, Lighted Number Boards, Operating Tender Back-up Light, Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring: Passenger Station Proto-Effects, it Measures: 15 3/4" x 2 1/4" x 1 1/2", and Operates On 22" Radius Curves.DCS Sound Features include Independent Whistle & Bell Volume Control, Quillable Whistle Effects, Passenger Station Sound Effects, Labor/Drift Chuffing Sound Control, 9 Independent Volume Control Settings, 16 Adjustable Chuff Rate Settings, 3 Adjustable Smoke Intensity Settings, Adjustable Brake Sound Effects, Adjustable Wheel "Clickity-Clack" Sounds, 15 Programmable Custom Sounds, Sound Mute, Whistle/Horn on/off, Bell On/Off, Start-up/Shut-down, Engine Sound Volume, Forward Signal Sound, Reverse Signal Sound, Coupler Slack Sound, Crossing Signal w/City Horn, Extended Start Up, Extended Shut Down, Labor Chuff, Drift Chuff, Single short whistle toot, Coupler Close, 4 Idle Sequence Sound Effects, Brakes auto/off, Cab Chatter auto/off, Clickety-Clack auto/off, and Train Wreck. DCS Locomotive Feature

The GS-4 was a streamlined 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive that served the Southern Pacific Railroad from 1941 to 1958. They were built by the Lima Locomotive Works and were numbered 4430 through 4457. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."

The GS-4 had a slightly different appearance than that of the GS-3, most drastically the dual-headlight casing (top headlight was a mars light) on the silver smokebox. Another change in appearance was the cab, which was changed to a fully-enclosed, all-weather cab, a feature not commonly found on steam engines. It retaned the skyline casing on the top of the boiler, skirting on the sides, an air horn, teardrop classification lights, and whistles. They received the orange and red "Daylight" paint scheme.

The GS-4s were designed for high-speed passenger service and were used on Southern Pacific's premier passenger trains, the Coast Daylight, San Joaquin Daylight, Lark, Cascade, Golden State and Sunset Limited, as well as many other Southern Pacific name trains. During wartime and also in the first years after the war some of the GS-4 locomotives were painted entirely black, and it wasn't until 1948 that all engines were painted into Daylight colors again. Starting in March 1950, they were gradually painted black again and also had their side skirtings removed for easier maintenance, and were re-assigned to the San Jose-San Francisco commute trains, freight service and the occasional San Joaquin Daylight (the GS-4 locomotives remained on that train as late as 1956 which made the San Joaquin Daylight the last streamliner train to be pulled by steam on the Southern Pacific) until new diesels arrived and they were retired. The last GS-4 engines were deskirted and painted into black in 1956, and after the last GS-4 pulled a passenger train in 1957, the GS-4s spent the last year of operation in front of freight trains along the coast and valley routes and finally were retired in 1958. GS-4 number 4443 pulled one of the final movements of steam on the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1957.

Other HO Scale MTH Locomotives: MTH HO Scale 2-10-0 Russian Decapod Locomotive - Santa Fe / MTH HO Scale 4-8-4 GS-6 Locomotive - Western Pacific

Other HO Scale GS-4 4-8-4 Locomotives: Bachmann HO Scale 4-8-4 GS-4 Locomotive - American Freedom Train #4449 / Bachmann HO Scale 4-8-4 GS-4 Locomotive - Southern Pacific (War Baby)

Other HO Scale 4-8-4 Northern Locomotives: Bachmann HO Scale 4-8-4 J Class Northern Locomotive - Norfolk & Western / Athearn HO Scale 4-8-4 Nothern "800" Locomotive - Union Pacific / Bachmann 4-8-4 Northern Locomotive - HO Scale - Santa Fe

Other HO Scale Southern Pacific Items: Athearn HO Scale C44-9W Locomotive - Southern Pacific / Athearn HO Scale GP40-2 Locomotive - Southern Pacific / Athearn HO Scale Bay Window Caboose - Southern Pacific

MTH HO Scale 2-10-0 Russian Decapod Locomotive - Santa Fe

MTH HO Scale 2-10-0 Russian Decapod Steam Locomotive w/PS2.0 - S - Santa Fe

Product Description

Here is a MTH 20-80008A Santa Fe 2-10-0 Russian Decapod Steam Engine w/ProtoSound 2.0. For more information on this product, see the product specifications on the manufacturer's website.The Trainz SKU for this item is S11441691.Manufacturer: MTHModel Number: 20-80008AScale/Era: O scaleModel Type: Steam Loco

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-10-0 is a locomotive with two leading wheels, generally in a radially swinging leading truck, and ten coupled driving wheels, five on each side. This arrangement was often named Decapod, especially in the United States, although this name was sometimes applied to locomotives of 0-10-0 "Ten-Coupled" arrangement.

The first Decapods built for the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1867 proved too rough on the track because of their long coupled wheelbase, so one pair of drivers were removed. No more followed for 19 years, until the Northern Pacific Railway bought two for use on the switchbacks over Stampede Pass, while the 2-mile (3.2 km) tunnel was being built. In low-speed service where high tractive effort was critical, these Decapods were successful. Small numbers of other Decapods were built over the next twenty years, mostly for service in steeply graded mountainous areas where power at low speeds was the requirement. The type did not prove as popular as the successful Consolidation (2-8-0) type. Among Decapod users was the Santa Fe Railway. The engines were tandem compounds but their ongoing reversing limitations became the genesis of the 2-10-2 wheel arrangement.

The first boost in the number of Decapods occurred when Imperial Russia ordered approximately 1,200 Decapods from American builders during World War I. When the Bolshevik revolution occurred in 1917, 857 had already been delivered, but more than 200 were either awaiting shipment or were in the process of construction. These stranded locomotives were adopted by the United States Railroad Administration (USRA), the body created by the Government to oversee and control the railroads during the War, converted to American standards, and put to use on American railroads. Small and light-footed, these Russian decapods proved popular with smaller railroads, and many of them remained in service long after the USRA's control of the railroads ceased. Many indeed lasted until the end of steam on those railroads.

Swengel suggested the 2-10-0 arrangement was 'obsolete' by 1916, when the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) commenced an experiment with a 2-10-0 locomotive at its Juniata plant. Most 10 coupled engines constructed for U.S. railroads during World War 1 were of the USRA 2-10-2 arrangement, but the PRR committed to 122 of the 2-10-0s. Swengel argued this commitment to the 2-10-0, nicknamed "Deks", was controversial even in 1916, but it was even more so in 1922 when the PRR placed additional orders. The PRR was soon the biggest user of Decapods in the United States. The type was ideally suited to the Pennsy's heavily graded Allegheny Mountains routes, which required lugging ability according to tractive effort, not speed according to horse power.

The PRR bought 598 2-10-0s including 123 built at its own shops. In one of the largest locomotive orders ever, the rest came from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The PRR 2-10-0s weighed 386,100 lb (175.1 t) and developed 94,024 lbf (418.2 kN) of tractive effort with an axle loading of over 70,000 lb (32 t). The engines steamed at 250 psi (1.72 MPa) and had a relatively large superheater. The grate area of about 70 sq ft (6.5 m2) was on the small side, but a mechanical stoker partly compensated for this. The debate about whether the PRR's 2-10-0s were the best of their kind, predicted Swengel, "must remain a great unknown."

The PRR decapod, class I1s, was unlike the Russian decapod; it was huge, taking advantage of the PRR's heavy trackage and high axle loading, with a fat, free-steaming boiler that earned the type the nickname of 'Hippos' on the PRR. Two giant cylinders (30½ x 32 inch) gave the I1s power and their giant tenders permitted hard and long workings between stops. They were unpopular with the crews, for they were hard riding. Indeed, one author described them as the holy terror of the PRR. The last operations on the PRR were 1957.

A small number of other Decapods were ordered by other railroads; those built for the Western Maryland Railroad were the largest ever built, at almost 420,000 lb (190 t) weight.

Baldwin developed two standard 2-10-0s for railroads with low axle-load requirements. The heavier version sold to the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad (#250–265), and the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway (#800–805). The lighter version sold to the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad (#401–403), Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railway, the Great Western Railway, the Osage Railway, Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and the Durham and Southern Railway, who bought three — Nos. 200–201 in May 1930 and No. 202 in September 1933.

Thirteen Decapod locomotives survive in the USA, including two Baldwin standards, six Russian Decapods and one PRR I1s. Two, Great Western Railway 90 at the Strasburg Rail Road, and one Russian decapod at the Illinois Railway Museum, are operational. One Decapod survives as a static exhibit at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina(Seaboard Airline 2-10-0 #544)

Other HO Scale MTH Locomotives: MTH HO Scale 4-8-4 GS-6 Locomotive - Western Pacific

Other HO Scale Santa Fe Items: Bachmann HO Scale Rail King Electric Train Set - Santa Fe / Athearn HO Scale EMD GP38-2 Locomotive - Santa Fe / Athearn HO Scale PS-2 Covered Hopper - Santa Fe / Athearn 50ft Ice Reefer Box Car - Santa Fe (Scout) / Athearn HO Scale Cupola Caboose - Santa Fe / Athearn HO Scale GP60M Locomotive - Santa Fe / Athearn Genesis F45 HO Scale Locomotive - Santa Fe / Bachmann 2-10-4 Texas HO Scale Locomotive - Santa Fe / Bachmann 4-8-4 Northern Locomotive - HO Scale - Santa Fe / Proto 2000 Diesel EMD F7A-B Set Powered - HO Scale - Santa Fe / Bachmann HO Scale FT Locomotive - Santa Fe / Walthers HO Scale F7 Locomotive - Santa Fe

MTH HO Scale 4-8-4 GS-6 Locomotive - Western Pacific

MTH 80-3120-1 Western Pacific 4-8-4 GS-6 Steam Locomotive w/PS3

Product Description

Here is a MTH 80-3120-1 Western Pacific (#483) 4-8-4 GS-6 Steam Engine with Proto-Sound 3.0.

80-3120-1 Western Pacific MTH HO Original MSRP $449.95 2008 HO Volume 2 Catalog (de)
4-8-4 GS-6 Steam Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0 - Western Pacific
Cab No. 483

Product Details

The GS-6 is a semi-streamlined 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive that served the Southern Pacific Railroad from 1943 to 1958 and the Western Pacific Railroad from 1943 to 1953. They were built during World War II for the Southern Pacific Railroad by the Lima Locomotive Works and were numbered 4460 through 4469 for Southern Pacific and 481 through 486 for Western Pacific. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."

In 1943 when the Southern Pacific Railroad placed an order for fourteen new "Daylight" locomotives from Lima, it was World War II and the US government had taken over all locomotive manufacturers. SP's order was turned down, with the government declaring that streamlined passenger engines were not necessary and would not help in moving wartime traffic. Southern Pacific re-designed the engines for general service and it was finally approved, but the government took four of them and gave them to the smaller and power-starved Western Pacific Railroad.

The GS-6 had an appearance similar to the GS-2: They featured a silver smokebox with a cone-shaped single headlight casing and 73 inch drivers. Like all GS engines they had teardrop classification lights, an air horn, and whistles. They retained the skyline casing on the top of the boiler, but they did not retain the side skirting of previous GS locomotives. Southern Pacific's GS-6s also lacked the orange and red "Daylight" paint scheme that the previous GS engines so famously wore. Western Pacific's GS-6s received "elephant ears" similar to that of the Union Pacific Railroad's 4-8-4 locomotives. Like the GS-5, they were also equipped with roller bearings, giving the GS-6 a smoother ride and extra weight, and they also featured all-weather, fully-enclosed cabs.

They were primarily used by the Southern Pacific for the San Joaquin Daylight, as well as San Jose-San Francisco commute trains and freight service.

The Western Pacific used its GS-6s (GS-64s as WP classified them) on various passenger trains and in freight service as well. They acquired a different look from their SP sisters when the WP applied the "elephant ear" style smoke deflectors to all six locomotives. When the Western Pacific dieselized in 1953, they sold several of the GS-64 engines to Southern Pacific to be used as sources for spare parts, but kept three tenders and converted them to steam generators for rotary snowplows.

Product Features

Die-Cast Boiler and Tender Body
Die-Cast Metal Chassis
Authentic Paint Scheme & Cab Numbers
RP-25 Metal Wheels Mounted On Metal Axles
Directionally Controlled Constant Voltage Headlight
Prototypical Rule 17 Lighting
Detailed Truck Sides
Detailed Cab Interior
Opening Cab Roof Hatch
Powerful 5-Pole Precision Flywheel Equipped Motor
(2) Scale Kadee Compatible Couplers
Metal Handrails and Decorative Bell
Decorative Metal Whistle
Sprung Drive Wheels
Synchronized Puffing ProtoSmoke® System
Locomotive Speed Control In Scale MPH Increments
Detailed Tender Undercarriage
Interchangeable Traction Tire-Equipped Drive Wheels
On-Board DCC Receiver
Operates On Code 70, 83, & 100 Rail Curves
Wireless Drawbar
Engineer and Fireman Figures
Operating Marker Lights*
Lighted Number Boards
Operating Tender Back-up Light
Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring: Passenger Station Proto-Effects
Unit Measures:
Operates On 22" Radius Curves
DCS Sound Features
Independent Whistle & Bell Volume Control
Quillable Whistle Effects
Passenger Station Sound Effects
Labor/Drift Chuffing Sound Control
9 Independent Volume Control Settings
16 Adjustable Chuff Rate Settings
3 Adjustable Smoke Intensity Settings
Adjustable Brake Sound Effects
Adjustable Wheel "Clickity-Clack" Sounds
15 Programmable Custom Sounds
Sound Mute
Whistle/Horn on/off
Bell On/Off
Start-up/Shut-down
Engine Sound Volume
Forward Signal Sound
Reverse Signal Sound
Coupler Slack Sound
Crossing Signal w/City Horn
Extended Start Up
Extended Shut Down
Labor Chuff
Drift Chuff
Single short whistle toot
Coupler Close
4 Idle Sequence Sound Effects
Brakes auto/off
Cab Chatter auto/off
Clickety-Clack auto/off
Train Wreck
DCS Locomotive Features
120 Adjustable Maximum Engine Speed Settings
Downloadable Locomotive Sounds Sets
Independent Locomotive Chronometer
Independent Locomotive Odometer
Independent Locomotive Trip Odometer
Headlight on/off
Cab Light on/off
Smoke on/off
Variable Smoke Output Settings
Feature Reset
Boost/Brake Functions
Maximum Speed Control Governor Setting
Acceleration/Deceleration Settings
Labor/Drift Smoke Output Settings

Proto-Sound 3.0 equipped locomotives can be controlled in command mode with any DCC compliant command control system. While the user won't have access to all of the incredible features of Proto-Sound 3.0, independent control over the locomotive is possible. This means you can continue to use your existing DCC controller to independently control your other DCC equipped locomotives in addition to your Proto-Sound 3.0 locomotive on the same track at the same time.

When using a DCC controller, the following Proto-Sound 3.0 locomotive features are accessible:
(F0) Headlight on/off
(F1) Bell on/off
(F2) Whistle/Horn on/off
(F3) Start-up/Shut-down
(F4) PFA initiate and advance
(F5) Cab Light on/off
(F6) Engine Sounds on/off
(F7) Volume low, med, high, off
(F8) Smoke on/off
(F9) Forward Signal Sound
(F10) Reverse Signal Sound
(F11) Coupler Slack Sound
(F12) Crossing Signal w/City Horn
(F13) Extended Start Up
(F14) Extended Shut Down
(F15) Labor Chuff
(F16) Drift Chuff
(F17) Smoke Volume low, med, high
(F18) Single short whistle toot
(F19) Coupler Close
(F20) Feature Reset
(F21) Idle Sequence 1
(F22) Idle Sequence 2
(F23) Idle Sequence 3
(F24) Idle Sequence 4
(F25) Brakes auto/off
(F26) Cab Chatter auto/off
(F27) Clickety-Clack auto/off
(F28) Train Wreck